Ontario diners with a taste for pan-seared lobster-crab cakes or Ahi tuna chopped salad may have to make their own because they won't be able to order it at the Outback Steakhouse any longer.

The Australian-themed restaurant is closing its nine stores in the province. The chain is part of the OSI Restaurant Partners group based in Tampa and has been in Ontario since 1996.

Outback Steakhouse Canada said in a statement its "decision to exit Ontario was a difficult one, and it was made only after considerable reflection and analysis."

The business climate in the province has not been exactly vibrant lately; bankruptcies in January were up 23.9 per cent from a year ago at this time.

Across Canada, there were 10,755 bankruptcies in January, almost 21 per cent more than a year earlier, although businesses filed 567 bankruptcies, 9.9 per cent fewer than a year ago.

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy reports that Canadians filed a total of 125,087 bankruptcies in the 12-month period ending in January, 14.5 per cent more than in the previous year.